Impression of Ph.D. Grind 梁飞

 As an undergraduate student who will apply for Ph.D. soon, it’s an honor for me to have a chance to read such a book called “Ph.D. Grind”. I think it’s my turn to write something to express my impression of this book and what my hope is for my Ph.D. future.

 

Whether I should continue my pursuit for Ph.D.?

When I started my learning career in primary school, I was told that it’s a great prestige to get Ph.D. with which one person would be respected by most of people and would also easily to find a perfect job after graduation. From then on, to get Ph.D. has become one basic requirement and goal for me. Especially for those children like me from countryside (my parents are both farmers) with no very good economic condition and family background, to get a high academic degree in top university or research institute is the best even the only way to prove myself and earn respect from others. Until now I still have such a goal and dream for Ph.D. but my view toward Ph.D. has changed a lot as I matured. I no longer take it as the only way to earn respect. Maybe it’s not a way to earn respect in modern society because the way people view Ph.D. has changed also over past decades. Now, in my mind, it’s a chance for me to put my heart into some research field and give the world the best result. It’s an unforgettable experience for me to collaborate and communicate with so many elites and learn from them. Also, it’s an opportunity to prove myself, to enhance my ability to overcome challenges, solitary, bitter and confusion when pursuing Ph.D. From this book, I also see what Ph.D. means for the author. He said Ph.D. program provides a safe environment for certain types of people to push themselves far beyond their mental limits and then emerge stronger as a result. So, I wouldn’t stop. I will try my best to emerge stronger.

 

To find a topic I’m really interested in

For many people, the reason for why they are not happy for what they are doing is that they don’t like it. So to find an interesting topic during Ph.D. is really important because we will spend lots of time on it. If it is boring or tedious, we may gradually loss our aspiration to our future just like the author in his first two years of Ph.D. With regard to interest, there are two kinds of people. One does what he loves to do and another loves what he does. Obviously, the second kind of people should be highly recommended but there are few people who can do like that. For most of us, it is good enough if we can do what we love to do. As a result, I will discuss my future research topic with my mentor before starting Ph.D. to select one filed that I’m mostly interested in so that I can put all my heart into it just because I love it.

 

To communicate with your mentor actively

As the author said, he suffered a lot from his first two years’ experience. In my opinion, the reason for this is that he didn’t share his point with his advisor timely and effectively. The purpose for us to have an advisor or mentor is that we can ask for help when encounter some unexpected problems. So just try to communicate with your mentor and ask for help especially when you have nearly lost your passion and hope.

 

Keep your faith

This may be the most meaningful thing I get from this this book although I have learned more about faith in other areas. However, it’s still special for me because it tells me what faith can help us when we pursue Ph.D. As everyone knows, we have to take risks if we decide to do research. After all, not all researchers can perform an excellent work just like Einstein or Turing. And it is very common for young researchers to be rejected. We will encounter many unusual challenges and difficulties we didn’t expect, even failure, a series of failure. There is little possibility that one can succeed at his first try. So, we need to be fortuitous, we need to keep our faith and we need to trust ourselves. Learn to wait for success, learn to bear bitter, but never stop struggling. From my own angle, I trust myself. If I can’t rely on myself, who else can I depend.

 

I have been ready for my pursuit of Ph.D. because I have faith, hope and love.